Danny Phantom (character)
Danny Phantom, the heroic ghostly alter-ego of Daniel "Danny" Fenton, is a superhero, the protagonist and title character of the Nickelodeon animated television series Danny Phantom, created and designed by Butch Hartman, Shannon Tendell, and Stephen Silver.Butch Hartman Interview, March 30, 2006 Danny Fenton/Phantom is voiced by David Kaufman. Danny receives his powers through an accident with his parents' ghost portal. Throughout the series, Danny struggles to master his abilities while balancing school life and his own teenage emotions. His parents are Jack and Maddie Fenton, and his older sister is Jazz Fenton. He has two best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Danny is a fourteen-year-old freshman in Casper High. Unpopular, he is the victim of bully Dash Baxter and harbors a crush on Paulina, a popular student. His primary enemy and rival is Vlad Plasmius, another half-ghost. Plasmius tries to persuade Danny to be his adoptive son and apprentice. Creation and conception Hartman originally envisioned Danny as a normal human who hunted ghosts. Accompanying him would be an owl named Spooky and his means of travel would be a motorcycle; Hartman paid tribute to the latter later in the series. He and Sam also were meant to share a psychic connection.Butch Hartman Interview, March 30, 2006 Character Becoming a half-human, half-ghost teenage superhero significantly alters Danny's life and allows him to mature. Danny begins as a naive and clumsy teenager who seeks an identity for himself and his newfound powers. Danny is shallow and superficial and yearns for popularity. Later in the series, Danny moves beyond the superficial to focus on his goal as a superhero, preferring to step out of the spotlight when he is not on-duty. However, he continues to uphold his vow to protect his hometown, Amity Park, and those in need. He develops confidence and matures as he continues to develop his powers, but ultimately, his loyalty to his cause helps him overcome obstacles. Even when the public vilifies him early in his career, Danny's strong sense of duty prevents him from considering retirement. Danny says that his battles had a "pattern: "Witty banter, fight, kick-butt, lesson." He can be cocky in battle and at times underestimates his enemies due to his naïveté and young age, though he is just as often cautious. He is also often too emotional, which his enemies often use against him. This flaw shatters his confidence and self-esteem and hinders his actions as a ghost hunter. However, Danny can also be responsible, considerate, and intelligent while battling. He tries to protect his loved ones. For instance, Danny tries to protect his oblivious parents from the half-ghost Vlad Masters, whose ghostly alter-ego is Plasmius. He tries to protect his friends as well, since they may be more vulnerable to other ghosts since they are closer to Danny. When he makes mistakes, he honestly tries to repair the results, with his friends and family. Danny expresses an interest in space and dreams of becoming an astronaut. Danny enjoys eating junk food and playing video games such as the video game Doomed. He is a fan of the band “Dumpty Humpty.” Danny is a gifted artist as shown in the episode Fright Knight. He gains his "DP" insignia during the Season Two premiere. Plot overview At the urging of his best friend, Sam, Danny explores the contents of the then under construction Fenton Portal. It resulted in an accident that caused Danny's molecular structure to be infused with ectoplasm, transforming him into a half ghost. Unsure of what to make of it for a month, Danny's battle with a Lunch Lady Ghost causes him to pursue the path of a superhero. He struggles with his powers as he deals with heroic life and his normal, teenage existence. When Walker, Ghost Zone's ghost cop frames Danny for assaulting the mayor of Amity Park as an act of revenge for escaping his prison earlier, Danny's hometown shuns him and dubs him "Inviso-Bill". Danny does not become discouraged and vows to continue protecting Amity Park. He eventually gains the townspeople's trust when he saves Amity Park and the Ghost Zone from an old, powerful ghost king. He becomes their duly-deputized protector. By the end, he is known and beloved over the world. Danny meets Vlad Masters/Plasmius who serves as his primary arch-nemesis and has the same half-ghost powers but has more experience. Plasmius tries to force Danny into becoming his surrogate son. His desire to obtain Danny pushes Plasmius to create numerous clones of Danny until he reaches the perfect one. The last clone is Dani Phantom, who teams up with Danny after she discovers she is nothing but a tool to Plasmius. Plasmius abandons cloning and spends the remainder of the series tormenting and trying to destroy Danny. One theme is Danny's constant battle against his temptation to abuse his powers. This comes full circle when Danny cheats on his tests, resulting in a future timeline where he becomes Dark Danny, the most powerful, evil ghost. Danny defeats his future self using the element of surprise and the newly acquired Ghostly Wail. Clockwork, a ghost that oversees time, gives Danny a second chance and alters the dark future. Danny has his secret identity exposed three episodes, "Reality Trip," "Ultimate Enemy" and "Phantom Planet." On two of these three occasions, everyone, except Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, has their memories wiped. The final episode chronicles Danny's struggles to compete against the "Masters' Blasters", a team of teenage ghost hunters who bests Danny. Danny retires after losing his ghost powers but regains his powers back when he goes to the Ghost Zone and returns to stop an asteroid from hitting the earth. He reveals his secret identity to the world upon victory, and the last scenes depict a bright future with him and his new girlfriend, Sam. Ghost powers Upon receiving his ghost powers, Danny often has great difficulties controlling it. His nervous behavior often triggers episodes of intangibility or invisibility, much to his embarrassment. Besides switching between his human and ghost forms, his early powers are flight, intangibility, and invisibility. When he transforms, he shouts "Goin' Ghost", before two white rings intersect his body. When he flies, his legs often turn into a ghost "tail". He also gains super strength and enhanced abilities and agility his human form does not possess. He can manipulate his body and twist himself into odd shapes to avoid stray attacks. He is able to walk on walls, though this is rarely utilized. He has a ghost sense that manifests as a blue wisp from his mouth that announces the presence of nearby ghosts. Danny describes it as being akin to a cold breath during chilly weather and served as a precursor to his ice powers. Danny gains a ghost ray that has become one of his most frequently used powers; becoming an energy ball that can expand in size and corresponding area of effect, and even be usable as a flashlight at low power. He possess a ghost shield that can protect him by deflecting attacks. He has the ability to overshadow people and ghosts, causing their eyes to glow green as well as change their voice to his. He later masters the power, able to cancel or control such obvious signs of possession. He can also enter people's dreams. One of his most powerful attacks is the Ghostly Wail, a sonic scream that can hit multiple targets. It appears to take massive amounts of energy to use, draining Danny heavily, so he often reverts to his human form after use. By the end of the series, he appears to have mastered this ability (to an extent). He can duplicate himself, but struggles to master it throughout the series—often with disastrous or amusing results. He succeeds in splitting in two, then eventually four later on. Danny either can breathe underwater when in ghost form or does not need to. It is unclear if he can breathe in space, though it is shown that he can handle its extreme conditions with little more than a space helmet. Danny can also produce an ice beam to freeze opponents. References External links * Category:Child superheroes Category:Television superheroes Category:Danny Phantom characters Category:Nicktoon characters Category:Fictional English-Americans Category:Fictional ghosts Category:Fictional hybrids Category:Fictional characters who can turn intangible Category:Fictional characters who can turn invisible Category:Fictional characters with accelerated healing Category:Fictional characters with superhuman strength Category:Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Category:Fictional characters who can duplicate themselves Category:Fictional characters who can fly Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate ice Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2003